In order to ensure that the quality of the clinker is as constant as possible, samples of the clinker are taken and examined. It is then possible to influence the raw meal composition, the fuel regulation, etc., as a function of the result. Because of the high temperatures of the clinker coming out of the kiln and falling onto the cooler such samples can only be examined with regard to their chemical properties. The formation of clinker minerals is only terminated when the temperature of the clinker falls below approximately 720° C.
In order to analyse the clinker both with regard to its chemical properties and with regard to its mineralogical properties, the prior art mentions that sampling is carried out after the cooler. Due to the relatively long residence time of the clinker in the cooler an intervention into the preceding method sections can only be undertaken with a substantial loss of time.
The object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a cooler for cooling clinker with a device for the removal of a sample of the clinker, so that comprehensive information concerning the properties of the clinker can be collected as contemporaneously as possible.
This object is achieved according to the invention in that the cooler has a first cooler section, a second cooler section and a crusher disposed between them, and the device for removal of a sample of the clinker is disposed in a region between the first and the second cooler sections.